This area of the plains is a bid odd. Half of the area is of fresh and healthy green grass while a dry and dusty area makes up the other half. It seems the canal here divides each of the sides. A few trees are here and there, but pending on which side of the canal you are on they are green or sick with on leaves at all. A man made bridge can be seen filling the ten foot gap between both sides of the canal.

High over head sits the sun. The bright eye of the sky watches the world below, revealing all and sending life as well as death, as shown by the divide in these plains. There is a near constant breeze about, bringing the grasses to swaying dance in one area and the dust to a rolling prowl in the other. On occassion, a small hare or a fox could be seen lifting their muzzles from the brush.

Meruin stood on the side that stood barren and bereft of green. The eight year old walked, his gaze unerring from a single point in the horizon. He looked out of place, here. In the dark of night or under shroud of mist, he'd look something like a revenant, wraithing through the plains. Now, though, he was simply a small child letting his unshod feet take him where they would, pale and thin.

The day was pleasant for many, but one person found it simply delightful. A young woman was found to be sitting under a tree, with her back resting against the tree trunk. Yoshi appeared to be merely an adult, yet something in her eyes said different. With a large backpack by her side, she sat with an open book in her lap, and her most of her attention engaged in taking in all the text, yet she was still alert. Many hours could be spent under the sun, doing what she loved best, the pursuit of knowledge, the gaining of which that is unknown.

It was somewhat of a surprise for her to notice someone else nearby, and looking up from her text found it even more surprising that it was a child, a ninja too. She can't help it, but a light smirk crosses her lips, and she thinks. She had barely ever come across this before, except for herself really, but if he was a ninja, then he could probably take care of himself. She offers him a smile and a nod, and she invites him over with a wave in greeting.

Meruin had taken notice of the other at some point in time as he walked, and his eyes turned to her, the lack of a pupil making where, exactly, he's looking hard to tell. But he does see her and her beckoning, and after a few moments and a few more steps, he decides to take her up on her offer.

He turns, moving in Yoshi's direction. He examines her and what she surrounded herself with as he came to a stop a respectfully cautious distance away, not falling under the shadow of the tree Yoshi sat under.

"Why do you beckon?" asked the boy, smooth voice notably that of a child's.

Yoshi was pleased to see the boy take her up on her offer, as it almost seemed like he was going to ignore her, and that would be most unpleasant and rude. As he approaches and comes to a stand-still more than a few feet away, she offers another warm smile. It was a bit confusing because it was hard to find anything on her that would seem threatening, at least, she thought. But it didn't matter to her, and she says in a smooth voice "Hello. Where I come from, it is polite to introduce yourself when you meet someone new. It is a pleasure to run into someone else on such a nice day. Pleased to make your acquaintence, I am Yoshi." She ends her introduction with a look into Meruin's eyes with a light smile still present, and she blinks softly, however it was passing gesture that held wisdom in it whether she knew it or not.

"My apologies," replied Meruin with a small inclination of the head, his face unchanging from it's vaguely distant aura. "I am Okumo Meruin. I pleased to meet you."

He didnt approach any closer or appear to be any more warm, but he seemed to remember to perform the niceties that society asked for. In other words, he was polite. "Is there something you require?"

Yoshi studied the boy in passing, and found that he was surely an interesting creature. The wry and placid nature of the boy, she thought could only be brought on my some strange ways, and she wondered what this boy was raised like. Then it hit her when he introduced himself, Okumo. She had heard this name, it was a clan, based in the Village Hidden in the Mist, and though mysterious as they were, she could only guess that spiders had something to do with it.

She offers Meruin a light shrug and a chuckle, for she was not seeking anything in particular besides that of a conversation between fellows. "I do not require a thing, Okumo-san, but thank you!" He lets out a light sigh in satisfaction "I live by the road, for one like me, must be content with what they have. They do not have a home to seek solace and refuge…" Taking another look into those pearly eyes of his to see if he was responding or understanding, and she shuts her book "Have you ever, known about the solace in life? For me, it is found on the road, nature, even people." Giving up another smile "So you can say, the road is my home."

"No," responded Meruin. "I have not found the solace in life." He tilted his head, misted eyes betraying nothing of his thoughts as they remained on Yoshi, weighing her. His long platinum hair rose of it's own volition in a slow, rolling undulation before settling over his shoulders, parted at his neck.

"To claim the road as home…" A beat. "It seems a lonely thing, to me. The world is too broad to be a proper foundation, is it not?"

Yoshi was glad to see Meruin engaging in conversation, and was impressed that he had such a mature way of molding his words, a prodigy of a boy. She grins and says "Yes, it is lonely." That was something she could not deny, with a look off into the sky, west. "When it is loney, you must have a goal to look forward to. That is how I find comfort. To know that there are people who think about me." She digs into her bag, for a while, taking a look at Meruin and holding up a finger to hold on. Finally, she takes out a carved black stone whistle, shaped like a bird. "Here, this is a whistle that was given to me by a wise-man. He said it was given to him, and told me the story of its origins." She takes a breath "It was carved by a master craftsman who had a passion for watching birds. He found a way to imitate the sound of birds and made bird whistles. This has been owned by different owners for centuries. I will show you how to use it." She blows into the whistle regularly, but it only makes a noise, then she shapes her tounge and shows Meruin. Blowing into the whistle it makes the sound of a black bird, and waiting a moment. "If there were any black birds here, they would come." She giggles, and hands the bird whistle to Meruin.

Meruin does not move, staying far out of reach despite the offer of the bird whistle. His eyes, dark as they are, regards the even darker object from afar.

"I do not like birds," he said, after a moment. "They make a suitable meal. Otherwise, I see no need to bring them into my presence."

Yoshi found it curious that Meruin would not accept such a gift, even if he didn't like birds. It was a valuable and interesting gift, but she couldnt force anything on the boy. Offering up a shrug, she wanted to give him something to remember her by, so that one day, when he it was right, he would understand what she had said. He tilts her head and asks curiously "What is it that you would like? I have many items to share…Or is it something else?"

Meruin cocks a brow, slightly, at her question. He paused, considering it. What is it that he wanted from her, he asked himself, standing just outside of the shadow of the tree and watching her. Eventually an answer came to mind — he couldn't say how long it'd taken for it to come, but it did. So, he said it.

"Information. Would you tell me something interesting?"

Yoshi nods, the boy was a ninja to the core. She replies "I see that is the most valuable thing to acquire here. I too, am in search of information. It can be very easy to come across, or very difficult, depending on what you seek." Her pack was full of books scanning over the titles; The History of Kusagakure, Lakes of the Land of Water, Herbalism; the pocket dictionary. "A library, is at your disposal." She says jokingly. "But if you ask me, I will tell you what I Know." She says honestly.

"I do not have any specific knowledge that I seek," said Meruin. "I simply wish to… know." A spider could, perhaps, been seen leaving the left ear of the boy, if they were attentive enough to see so small a thing from such a distance. Tiny and black, it traveled across the line of his jaw and down his neck before vanishing into the folds of his platinum. After a moment, he asks something.

"Would you inform me of your place of origin?"

As they were speaking Yoshi was looking at Meruin and noticed something imparticular. Her eyesight was very perceptive, but she has to squint a bit to confirm something that she saw. The spider had crawled out of his ear, unless she was just seeing things and the spider had climbed over his shoulder. Still, she was right about the spiders and the Okumo, and she wondered if that's why he didn't like birds.

When he asks his question, she blinks softly in his direction once again. It was not a very touchy subject, so after just a moment she nods graciously and says "My people are called the Wakahisa. We come from land far away." She assumed he wouldn't run into the town center yelling and screaming about her personal business, that wasn't the kind of boy he seemed like. "Like I said, I will answer all the questions you have, Meruin. It is my goal in life to find answers myself, so if you require some knowledge, do not hesitate to find me and ask." She nods again.

She didn't expect such a young kid to be in the world ninja tournament, but she couldn't help but think that it was a slight possibility "I hope everything is well for you, are you enjoying the tournament?"

"No," said Meruin matter-of-factly. "The tournament is simply my duty. After I win my next match in the finals, I will return home." He looks towards where hed been heading before being drawn over, again finding that point on the horizon. "I should depart. Tell me. If I have questions, how would I find you to ask them?"

Yoshi's doubts were proven incorrect, when Meruin said he was in the tournament. An expression forms on her face of surprise and wonder, her jaw almost drops. "You…you are in the finals?…Amazing." She says to herself. Then nodding to Meruin she says "Good luck."

She has to think about it for a second, but she answers his question in a soft and velvety tone "I am chasing the ghost of the Mystic Warrior." A sly look to the boy, if he had not heard of the ghost then he would soon. Then she waves, and takes out a journal and a pen to write the information she had found, and she would probably be there to watch the little Okumo's match.

Meruin nods, eyes till on the horizon as he mulls over her response for a few moments. Soon, though, he simply files the information away and says, "You've gotten the informaton you wish for, and I've gotten something to ponder on. I depart."

His hair slides back over his shoulder, hanging down along his back and thighs as he stepped forward, continuing his journey. "Be well."